Peter Lown

Filmmaker Werner Herzog combs through the film archives of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft to create a film that celebrates their legacy.

Bearwalker tells the emotional life story of wildlife biologist Lynn Rogers, who has lived closer to wild black bears than anyone ever before. This film follows his daughter, Colleen, as she returns home to the iconic Northwoods of Minnesota to help her aging father save his remarkable legacy. Many in America have a paralysing fear of bears, yet, as a child, Colleen was raised among wild bears, never questioning her father’s unconventional bond with these animals. Now, a frail father and loving daughter face denial, heartache, and the looming threat of hunters while Lynn strives to see his favourite bear, ‘Lily,’ one last time. Set against the raw beauty of the American wilderness and brought to life with rare, unseen archive footage, Bearwalker charts the fifty-year journey of a controversial scientific pioneer, revealing how challenging and overcoming fear can create a new relationship with the wild.

Filmmaker Werner Herzog combs through the film archives of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft to create a film that celebrates their legacy.

Bearwalker tells the emotional life story of wildlife biologist Lynn Rogers, who has lived closer to wild black bears than anyone ever before. This film follows his daughter, Colleen, as she returns home to the iconic Northwoods of Minnesota to help her aging father save his remarkable legacy. Many in America have a paralysing fear of bears, yet, as a child, Colleen was raised among wild bears, never questioning her father’s unconventional bond with these animals. Now, a frail father and loving daughter face denial, heartache, and the looming threat of hunters while Lynn strives to see his favourite bear, ‘Lily,’ one last time. Set against the raw beauty of the American wilderness and brought to life with rare, unseen archive footage, Bearwalker charts the fifty-year journey of a controversial scientific pioneer, revealing how challenging and overcoming fear can create a new relationship with the wild.